


The Easy Way

by sandyk



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-19
Updated: 2009-08-19
Packaged: 2017-11-28 17:38:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandyk/pseuds/sandyk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Together with McGee, they were a team. And everything was all better and everything was right. What was not right was how Ziva had realized she felt about Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Easy Way

**Author's Note:**

> not mine, no profit garnered. thanks to T for beta!

And back to the kissing. Unlike the last time, they did not make jokes or try to bite the other's tongue. Tony had a firm grip on Ziva's waist, and if she tensed underneath his hand, it would not be visible to observers. And there were certainly observers, or else she would not have to endure this again. He smelled better than the first time, she thought. He had changed his deodorant over the summer. She wondered why.

Of course they had made up; she had come back to America and all was well. All arguments settled, all issues dealt with, and they were Gibbs's team like they had all been born in those desks, making those same jokes. Together with McGee, they were a team. And everything was all better and everything was right. What was not right was how Ziva had realized she felt about Tony. A relationship between the two of them would never work. He had killed someone she thought she cared about. He was probably bad in bed. She had a very long list of reasons that she berated herself with every morning. She could never trust him again.

Once, she had done so out loud in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror, and Abby had entered. Luckily, Ziva berated herself in Hebrew. She had added a random bow and covered her eyes, ending with an "amen."

Abby had backed out quickly saying, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Neither she nor Tony had protested at this ridiculous assignment last week. And Tony had not even said the kind of things that would have been witty if they were all under the age of ten. She wondered again if this was Gibbs's idea of revenge. She could not conceive of Gibbs trying to be some kind of matchmaker. That would have been Abby. But Abby had nothing to do with assignments like this.

The door was open to their fake apartment and he held it for her to walk in. She went straight to the kitchen where there were glasses to fuss over, forks to grip. Things to busy her hands. Tony did not say, "Sweetums, please put down the knife." She did not reply calling him "cupcakes."

Tony did say, "Swept for bugs already." He sat on the couch and turned on the TV.

She went to take a shower. Then she read a cheap novel she had bought back in Israel until he finally came in and laid down next to her. She closed her book and turned out the light.

"You really do snore," Tony said. His first almost joke, she thought. He could do better. Often, he was not funny. It was on her list.

"No, I do not," Ziva said.

"I’m going to tape you and prove it to you tomorrow," Tony said.

"I am going to assume you had Abby doctor the tape somehow."

"Please, I won’t need help from Abby to record your snoring." She could not see him clearly, but she could hear that he was now nearly smiling.

She was suddenly very very tired of no-more-jokes and Tony's silence. She was tired of berating herself. She had already forgotten half her list of reasons her feelings were a wrong-headed idea. So she reached across and pulled Tony to her, kissing him for real. He did not tell her to stop. He kissed her back and then was on top of her. She had not realized he could be that quick, if it was not a prank on McGee or an order to duck.

She pushed Tony onto his back so she was on top. He laughed and she shut him up. He pulled her into a kiss and she kissed back, losing herself. He kissed her again when she came back to the bed with the condom, and again after it was on. He always had his eyes open and she did not close hers. In the very dim faintly green light from the ancient digital alarm clock on the bed, Tony looked intent. Focused on her.

She was not going to tell Tony he probably had some reason to brag about his abilities in bed. Now she had to cross another reason off her list. She hated being wrong. She hoped she could lie on the bed, close her eyes, wake up in the morning, and they would both act like nothing had happened.

"I really think we should talk," Tony said. He sounded slightly winded which made Ziva smile. He also sounded almost serious.

"I vote no," Ziva said.

She would have sworn heard she could hear Tony thinking, deciding between a witty comeback or honest expression of emotion, shrugging and going back to sleep.

"I vote yes," he said. "And no one’s here to break the tie, so we can test my ability to keep you up all night or I could call someone for another opinion."

Ziva would not fall into this horrible banter-banter-joke-talking they used to have. She had reasons. She had said "amen." This was the path to bad. But she could not stop herself from saying, "Who would you call?"

"I would call someone who would be on my side. Abby."

"I would call Gibbs and then we would be back to tied," she said quickly. They were back to their rhythm, she thought. Apparently sex was all they had needed. It seemed too easy.

"I would pay you a month’s salary, Ducky’s salary, not mine because I know his salary is bigger, to hear you explaining this to Gibbs and to see his face." Tony laughed.

"He would want us to never ever talk about it again, so he would be voting on my side."

"Aren’t we kind of talking about it now?"

"Not really," she said. She turned on her side so she did not have to look at his face.

"Fine," he said. To her surprise, he was quiet and she fell asleep.

In the morning he made her breakfast which was not new. He had been doing it before they had had sex. He was a kind man. She wished she did not know that. She could really only remember two of her reasons for that her feelings for Tony were wrong.

He smiled at her but he did not say anything. "Are you plotting how to kill me," she said, "because this is not the reaction I expected."

"Hey, you don’t want to talk, I can not talk."

"For some reason, I thought you were incapable of silence."

"Totally capable. And that’s what you want, I can do that."

"Though you are not now. Doing that."

He made a gesture across his mouth, smiled, and dished out food for her. She refused to say how nice it smelled. Or how excellent it tasted. It would encourage him. They had issues, she thought fiercely. Issues of trust and things that mattered that would not be settled by (excellent) sex and making a few jokes. In addition, she had a list of reasons.

It could not possibly be that easy.

Tony was now humming in between bites. It would be a song from movie, if she asked. She was making an effort not to smile.

"Maybe it’s just that easy," he said.

"What?" Surely she was not that obvious. She did not telegraph her emotions like Tony. She had the sudden, frightening thought that maybe Abby knew Hebrew. Maybe she had looked it up. Or had McGee do it. But McGee would never keep silent.

"You're really obvious," he said.

"I do not think I am," she said.

"I know. But you are to me." He was smirking. She hated that expression on his face. That was one of her reasons.

"So, you have seen that I was thinking it was so easy for you to make breakfast."

"Okay, we’ll play that way," he said. "But I do know you better than that." Then they were done having breakfast and out they went to play their happily married weapons smugglers.

After a very long night, they were driving home to their fake apartment once more. Ziva was sure they would have sex again. "That is something to look forward to," she said.

"Ooh, let me guess," Tony said. "You’re thinking about going to bed." He managed to make it sound dirty. She laughed.

"I am," she said. "That was not hard to figure out, though."

"I'm that good," he said. She laughed again. Tony said, "I like when you do that. I like making you laugh."

"Even when I am laughing at you?" She liked that he liked that. Maybe Abby had told him. Maybe Ziva was glad Abby had. If Abby had.

If she had to work so hard to convince herself she was wrong, then that had to mean her feelings were right and her head was wrong. She was glad Abby had not had to explain that to her, because it would have been an incredibly confusing conversation. Instead, Ziva had figured it out on her own.

"That’s kind of my favorite laugh of yours," he said. "See? Easy," he said.

"You are very sure," she said.

"I had some time to think about it," he said. "So, no, I'm not very sure."

"You are very often wrong," she said. That made him laugh. "You should let me drive," she said.

He said, "No, no, never again, I am totally sure about that." He reached over and took her hand.

THE END.  



End file.
